Wabash Valley Astronomical Society, Inc.

Wabash Valley Astronomical Society (WVAS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the science and hobby of astronomy. We've been in the Greater Lafayette, Indiana, area since 1971 and our current membership includes people with many different backgrounds and with ages from high school through retirees. People join WVAS because they have an interest in planetary and deep sky observing, locating constellations, astrophotography, telescope making, cosmology, or they just "want to see what's out there". We are affiliated with the Astronomical League, a nationwide federation of astronomy clubs. We are available for group educational presentations and observing sessions. Additionally, we are members in the JPL Night Sky Network, a NASA group to encourage astronomy outreach. WVAS is a supporting organization of the International Dark Sky Association in their pursuit of reduced light pollution through better lighting practices.

The observatory has a 20 seat classroom and houses a computerized 16" diameter Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a 10" Newtonian, an 8" binocular telescope, and an 8" Orion Deep Space Explorer Newtonian. The 10" Newtonian and 8" binocular telescopes were built by WVAS members. The Deep Space Explorer telescope can be signed out by WVAS members and by community organizations. Our dark site observing location is at the Prairie Grass Observatory located within Camp Cullom.